Jack L. Tilley
SMA Jack L. Tilley
Born (1948-12-03) December 3, 1948
Vancouver, Washington
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1966–1969
1971–2004
RankSergeant Major of the Army
Battles/warsVietnam War
AwardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (3)
Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device
Meritorious Service Medal (2)
Army Commendation Medal (2)
Army Achievement Medal (3)

Jack L. Tilley (born December 3, 1948) is an American businessman and retired United States Army soldier. He served for almost 37 years in the United States Army, culminating in his appointment in 2000 as the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army, a post he held until his retirement on January 15, 2004. He was the last Vietnam War veteran to serve in that position.

Early life

After receiving the Medal of Honor, Ed Freeman was inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes on July 17, 2001, by Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki and Sergeant Major of the Army Jack L. Tilley.

Tilley was born in Vancouver, Washington, on December 3, 1948, and enlisted in the United States Army under the "Buddy Program" with his friend Barney Boykin. They both attended basic combat training at Fort Lewis, Washington, advanced training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and basic airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia.[1] Barney was killed in action in 1968 during the Vietnam War.[2]

Military career

Tilley's first assignment was to the Republic of Vietnam with A Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment as a vehicle crewman. Upon completion of his 1-year deployment he was assigned as a drill sergeant at Fort Benning, Georgia, until his enlistment expired; Tilley left the active duty army for two years and served in the Reserve Component before enlisting again in the Active Component in September 1971.[3]

Tilley held a variety of important positions culminating in his assignment as the Sergeant Major of the Army. He previously held the senior enlisted position as Senior Enlisted Leader of the United States Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Other assignments he held as command sergeant major were 1st Battalion, 10th Cavalry, Fort Knox, 194th Armored Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Bad Kreuznach, Germany, and United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Arlington, Virginia.[3]

Tilley held every key leadership position including tank commander, section leader, drill sergeant, platoon sergeant, senior instructor, operations sergeant and first sergeant. His military education includes the First Sergeants Course and the Sergeants Major Academy. He is a graduate of the basic airborne course, drill sergeant school and the master gunner's course.

Awards and decorations

Basic Parachutist Badge
Expert Marksmanship Badge with one weapon bar
10th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia
Drill Sergeant Identification Badge
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters
V
Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Presidential Unit Citation
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Valorous Unit Award
Superior Unit Award
Army Good Conduct Medal (11 awards)
Bronze star
Bronze star
National Defense Service Medal with 2 service stars
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Bronze star
Bronze star
Vietnam Service Medal with two service stars
Armed Forces Service Medal
NCO Professional Development with award numeral 4
Army Service Ribbon
Overseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 2
NATO Medal
Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
Vietnam Campaign Medal

Post-military career

Tilley retired from the army in January 2004 and served as the Chief Executive of JTilley, Inc., a services company based in Tampa, Florida, that specializes in placing military leaders into corporate America.[4] As of April 2019, Jack is now a Senior Vice President with NewDay USA.[5]

Philanthropy

Tilley is the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of the non-profit[6] American Freedom Foundation. This organization creates awareness and building support of their service, sacrifice and needs through partnerships with military-focused organizations.[7] The organization also sponsors military career fairs and hiring events regularly in major military areas around the country. These events are usually in conjunction with high-profile concerts or entertainment. Special emphasis is always given to the men and women who were wounded in action.

As an author

Tilley is the author of the book Soldier for Life: Lessons from the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army Jack L. Tilley.[8]

References

  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2015-04-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "PRENTIS BARNEY BOYKIN JR". THE WALL OF FACES - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  3. 1 2 "12th SMA - Jack L. Tilley". Association of the United States Army. June 6, 2016.
  4. "JTilley Inc".
  5. "Conference Speakers". conference. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  6. "AMERICAN FREEDOM FOUNDATION INC - GuideStar Profile".
  7. "American Freedom Foundation". www.americanfreedomfoundation.org.
  8. Soldier for Life: Lessons from the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army Jack L. Tilley. Temple, TX : NCO Historical Society, 2015. ISBN 9780996318105 OCLC 973417062

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army
The Sergeants Major of the Army, Daniel K. Elder, Center of Military History, United States Army Washington, D.C. 2003.

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